The Darkness Waits
by PointBlank2890
Summary: After the defeat of Alexander, Daniel finds himself pulled out of Agrippa and Weyer's protective grasp and transported into a strange realm. But if the Shadow has truly left him, then what is this Creeping Darkness that keeps hunting him down?


[A/N: Slightly based off Unknown Cake's picture which can be seen here: (http:/ /d341jjc) Also, because there seemed to be a genuine lack of Alan Wake and Amnesia crossovers.]

"Don't worry Daniel; everything's going to be alright."

Daniel floated weightlessly in the dark oblivion. The blue light flickered for a moment as Agrippa's voice returned.

"What's that, Weyer? You're losing him! Hold on, Daniel, I'll try to keep the link alive!" Daniel panicked as the lights began to grow dim and started to drift away. "No, stay with us Daniel! Weyer, something's pulling him away. Do what you can to reel him back; I'll see if I can get to him myself."

With a blinding flash, Daniel felt all the weight he possessed suddenly come flooding back to him. He hit the ground with a loud thud, knocking the breath out of him. Daniel coughed and choked as he slowly rose to his feet. He was in the dense woods; trees towered ominously around him and chirps and squawks echoed from every direction. Shaking himself back to full alertness, Daniel's foot nudged something solid. It was his lantern, still smudged and dirtied after everything it, and Daniel, had been through.

Daniel picked his companion up and turned a knob. The Lantern was working perfectly. With a quick swish, a sloshing noise emanated from the lantern which reassured Daniel that the Lantern was full of oil. Shining the light against the trees, Daniel found something odd about the forest. First of all, the foliage seemed different; likewise, Daniel had never had a good opportunity to study the flora outside the castle, but the growth around him seemed foreign and out of place. One thing was certain: He wasn't in Prussia anymore.

Daniel had been walking for what seemed like an hour, and still, the forest loomed like the once ever-so-present Shadow. A slight wetness on his foot inclined him to look down. He had stepped on a puddle; a sticky one to be exact. Shining the lantern on the ground, Daniel found that the puddle consisted of some sort of viscous black fluid that glinted and shimmered against the light. Bringing the lantern closer, Daniel was thrown aback when he saw the puddle began to burn and sizzle under the lantern's warm light. Growing curious, Daniel brought up the lantern once more, this time directing it towards the black mass. He watched in stunned amazement as the puddle of dark fluid burnt away, and eventually dematerialized into nothing.

A trail of even smaller puddles caught Daniel's eye, and he peered in closely with his light; the lantern held the same effect to the smaller puddles as to the one he had encountered earlier. The puddles soon collected into a clump of mass which in turn was pooled under the motionless figure of a dog. The canine had been long dead; a gash on its neck poured blood along the earth, eventually mixing in with the dark fluid. Its mane was a deep black, seamlessly blending in to the dark forest floor.

Daniel paused and placed the Lantern beside the carcass. Picking up a nearby stick, Daniel turned back to examine the dog, and saw that it was nowhere to be found. He stood there, befuddled as to what was going on. Even stranger things had happened to him than this, and it was all because of- Daniel shook the thought out of him. No, he was dead. He had seen the Shadow consume him. He was free now. Daniel was free.

To his right, Daniel heard the faint sound of a man grunting and groaning. Following the noise, Daniel found a path that eventually connected to a clearing that was full of piled logs and bizarre machinery. In the middle of it all was a lone figure, busy chopping away while muttering incoherent sentences to himself.

"H-Hello?" the words slipped past Daniel's tongue like marbles on glass. The figure looked up; two milky white orbs stared back, piercing Daniel's soul with a grievous intent.

"Logging...is...a hazardous...OCCUPATION!" The figure exclaimed, before raising its axe and throwing it straight a Daniel. The weapon landed just a few feet short of him, but it was enough to get the adrenaline pumping. The figure retrieved another axe embedded in a nearby block of wood, and began to charge Daniel. The survival instincts that helped him survive Brennenburg were coursing once more present within his mind. Quickly shutting off the lantern, Daniel ducked beneath a nearby pile of logs. There he waited; breath held, and the lantern clutched close to his heart. The figure was still out there, still muttering crazed thoughts to whoever was within earshot. Daniel could hear a sinister scraping noise as the heavy axe was clumsily dragged across the ground, its wielder eager to take his head off. Nevertheless, Daniel was somehow assured that he was protected. The Darkness itself was providing much needed cover for him to hide in. If there was one thing that experience taught him, it was that the veil of shadows was his friend in times like these. Countless times had it helped him evade the monstrous servants prowling around bowels of the castle, and he was confident that it would work as well in this situation too.

From a tree behind him, a lone Raven rested on one of the top branches, eyeing the man crouched in the blackness curiously. With a loud squawk, it spread its wings and circled overhead. The scraping sound grew louder and louder as Daniel realized to his horror that the imminent danger was upon him. Daniel dared a peek from his hiding spot, and saw that the figure that was stalking him was just around the corner. Lifting the axe from the ground, the madman attacked, barely missing Daniel and embedding the blade in a log. As he struggled to pull it out, Daniel jumped up and picked up a small block of wood from a nearby pile. He threw the object at the figure, but it simply bounced off unceremoniously, like some sort of invisible barrier was protecting him. Daniel bolted away towards the other direction, leaping across a small fence and into what seemed to be like a lodging area.

A cabin stood ominously in front of him, whilst a tall pole rose from the gorund just beside it. At the top of the pole was some sort of bulb fixture that in turn had wires running down it towards a small yellow box with wheels that rested just in front of the house. Daniel took a look back, and saw that the figure was slowly gaining on him. Within full view, unobstructed by the visible tree line and slightly illuminated by the moon's faint glow behind the clouds, Daniel saw the figure for what it truly was: A figure; A Dark, menacing, silhouette.

The man was black as the depths of the Chancel itself; Blackness swirled about his figure like troubled waters, constantly moving and shifting, something akin to a living cloak of shadows. "Remember...to always... wear proper protection WHEN handling...equipment." The voice that passed through the figure's lips was distorted and hollow. One could compare it to a hundred voices speaking at once in a large antechamber. Wisps of smoke emanated from its body as a beam of moonlight struck it. The creature continued forward, its axe raised threateningly in the air.

Daniel realized to his horror that he had backed himself up against the house. The metal box lay to his right, and a tightly locked door was on his left. There was nowhere to run, nothing to fight back with, no hope whatsoever. It felt exactly like the time he had been captured by the Servants and dragged off to the cells. He hung his head low in despair, the dawning realization that it was all going to end weighed heavily on his shoulders. The attacker slowed its pace, realizing that its prey had given up.

He stared up at the cold, stoic moon. There it was, shining faintly in the darkened sky, providing a beacon of light to those lost in the dark. He turned his gaze towards his lantern; the silent companion he had that helped him conquer the descent into the dark. The figure was just a few paces away now, its axe hefted up to perform the final coup de' grace.

No, it wasn't going to end like this. He had gone too far. Just when he had felt the kiss of freedom brush against his cheek, he was going to have to see it taken away from him. No, he had endured too much to die now.

In a moment of blazing determination, Daniel slammed his Lantern against the black box, triggering some sort of mechanism that made it whirr to life. Consequentially, the light in his lantern illuminated. It grew and grew, up to a point that something gave in. The brightness exploded, projecting its warm, protective aura around Daniel in a circle of light.

The shadow in front of Daniel stumbled back, shielding its face from the offensive thing. Gears clicked in Daniel's mind as he processed what was happening before his eyes. Snatching the Lantern from its resting place, Daniel brought it forward, making the creature retreat even more. Daniel's face grew in amazement as he attacked the creature with his light; the black shroud around it slowly began to burn away. The creature tried to resist, taking a few steps forward until Daniel forced the light upon it. Courage welled up in his chest as he discovered, that for once in his life, he could fend off these terrible monstrosities. But the feeling was short lived, however, when the light began to slowly die down and fade away.

The creature lowered its arm from its face, a maniacal grin grew appeared and it raised its axe once again. The veil of shadows was somehow coming back, whirling around the figure until collecting into a semi-solid form around it. Daniel scrambled backwards, not knowing what to do. In his panic, he managed to back himself against the metal box, the cold steel pressing against his back. Daniel craned his head backwards at the still whirring gizmo. A lever on the side caught Daniel's eye, and he read the small label written above it: 'Power'.

As a last ditch resort, Daniel threw his weight on the lever, bringing it down. The machine whirred even more, puffing little smoke clouds from an exhaust pipe located near its back. Eventually, it grew faster and faster until a blinding flash of light appeared above him as the lamppost was turned on.

The creature had no time to react, and was quickly caught in the spotlight shining from above. It wailed in agony as the beam slowly burned away its cloak. With whatever final resolve it had left, the creature turned towards Daniel, took a step forward, axe still raised. However, the light was too strong, and it enveloped the creature completely, before overtaking him. With one final cry, the creature burned away into nothingness.

Daniel laid there for another couple of moments as his mind, and his breath, tried to catch up. A thousand thoughts raised in his head as to what had just happened. He took another gaze at the moon, and saw its near flawless face silently staring back. With a slight shiver, Daniel raised himself up to his feet.

The door to the cabin that had been locked earlier was now slightly ajar, thanks to some sort of unlocking mechanism that Daniel observed was linked to the metal box thing that he had managed to activate. Daniel carefully entered, the light in his hand dimmed, as to conserve the precious lantern oil that he still had left. The room that came to view seemed to be a sort of lodging area, a 'living room', if you may. A sofa lay in one side of the room, while several paintings hung from the walls. A cube shaped object in the center of the room caught his attention and Daniel approached it with the utmost of curiosity. It was a small metal box that consisted of thin metal sheets, some wires at the back, and a glass pane at the front. Daniel peered curiously into the pane, tapping it as he saw his reflection stare back at him. From the center of the screen however, a small dot of light began to form. Daniel peered in more intently, squinting at the image. A familiar deformed face suddenly flashed on the screen, and Daniel screamed, stumbling backwards, the lamp clattering onto the wooden floor.

"Daniel? Is that you my boy? Thanks heavens, you're alright."

"A-Agrippa?" Daniel muttered out, sweat pouring from his forehead.

"Yes, lad. The one and only. But are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost." The jawless face only moved in slight inclinations, and Daniel noticed that he wasn't hearing him in his mind, but from the device itself.

"You wouldn't believe the half of it." Daniel picked up his lantern on the floor, checking if anything was broken. Thankfully, nothing was. "Agrippa, if I may bold to ask, what exactly is going on?"

"Well my boy, when Weyer and I were tending to you in our little 'limbo state', a powerful force suddenly intervened and tore you away."

"A Third Party? Was it Alexander? The Shadow?"

"No, no, no... Alexander is dead, thanks to you. And the Shadow has long since left after you managed to hunt down the man responsible for all those heinous acts."

"Then who, or what, was it exactly?" Daniel kneeled in front of the screen, begging for answers.

"We're still not sure, lad. But from what we saw when you were pulled away, it seemed pretty strong to break those bonds like that."

The answers weren't helping him that much. Daniel rubbed his temples in confusion. "Alright, Agrippa. I think I understand what you're trying to say. But would you mind telling me what I am doing in this place? And where am I exactly?"

"Well one's thing is for sure, you're back on Earth." Daniel sighed at the first bit of good news he'd heard all day. "Weyer and I have been observing the influx and matter changes around you, and from what we can deduce, you're in a different time."

"What, you mean like in the future?" Daniel's eyes grew in amazement and shock.

"Something like that, yes. From what information we could dig up, you're somewhere in the second millennium AD."

Daniel's mouth hung open at the sudden revelation. Suddenly, things started to make a little more sense.

"Oh, and listen to what magnificent breakthroughs Science has managed to develop in this time period. Did you know that people in this time rarely have the need for fire as a means of light? It's true! Apparently, they've managed to harness light to appear in glass bulbs powered through electrical charges. Isn't that wonderful? Also, people have also found a way to send signals across long distances and make them appear as moving images in rectangular boxes. It's apparently called 'Television', and it's exactly what I'm channeling myself through to speak to you right now!"

"But, Agrippa, how am I supposed to get out of here?"

"Patience, Daniel. We are still trying to find your specific life point in the astral plane. Whatever it was that tore you away from us, is consequentially blocking us out."

"But what am I to do?" Daniel didn't notice that the room he was in was slowly getting darker, as if an ominous presence was looming inwards.

"Daniel, did you feel that?" Agrippa's head moved sideways, staring past Daniel, at a black cloud that was slowly forming behind him. "Daniel, look out!"

Daniel turned, only to find the black cloud materializing into the figure of an old woman, dressed in a sort of mourning attire. The woman reached out a spindly hand, and grasped Daniel's forehead. His body shuddered as his mind was entered forcibly. Daniel could feel old memories rushing back, and new memories flooding in. The Orbs. Alexander. A Lake. A Great Darkness. A Writer.

He gasped for air as the woman removed him from her clutches. Agrippa was shocked, feeling a great sense of power inside the room, unlike anything he had ever seen before. He muttered two words as Daniel's body collapsed on the floor.

"Daniel, run!" The old hag raised her head and turned her attention to the face floating in the screen.

"You!" she bellowed out in a low, gurgled, almost demonic tone. She flung herself forward, her figure dissipating into black smoke and passing through the screen. Daniel struggled up and saw that Agrippa was cornered, trapped in a noose of darkness. But suddenly, a large flash of light appeared from the corner of the screen.

"Barbara, my love, leave them alone." An alien looking figure drifted into view. It was humanoid, albeit wearing some sort of heavy metal suit that Daniel guessed was probably used for deep sea exploration. Tiny bubbles erupted from holes at the side of its helmet, and a beam of light emanated from the front piece.

"Stay out of this, Poet!" She hissed, transforming into a swarm of ravens which encircled the figure. The figure retaliated, flashing its beam towards the flock, burning away a few of the birds. Agrippa had backed away, towards a faint blue shimmer that Daniel guessed must have been Weyer. Daniel began to retreat too, navigating around the sofa towards the door he had entered.

"You shall not escape me!" The woman disappeared from the television, and all that was left was the silent figure, slowly drifting towards oblivion. It turned to face Daniel, the beam of light glowing with each word it spoke. "Go now, Daniel! The Dark presence will soon return, hungry to exploit whatever knowledge you bring into this time. Use the Light, Daniel. I shall inform the Writer to watch out for you. For now, you must go!"

A vicious wind erupted outside, and Daniel could hear trees being picked up and thrown about. Daniel quickly retreated to the kitchen, seeing a backdoor he could use. Retreating down the steps, Daniel heard a faint whistling sound and looked up. A large Sequoia had been uprooted and was soaring through the air. It landed with a sickening crunch on the cabin, crushing everything inside.

"**COME BACK**!" The woman's voice echoed in the air, and from the distant tree line, Daniel saw a humongous tornado racing towards him. Daniel ran as fast as he can towards the trees, winding past several paths, all the while dodging loose roots and other hazards. He did not know how long he ran, for all he had in his mind was to escape. His legs were tired, but his mind just numbed it with the adrenaline coursing through his bloodstream. The last time he felt like this was when he was being pursued by the Grunt in the Choir.

Eventually, Daniel came across a rope bridge, and he dared a look back. The howling wind was dying down, and the tornado was nowhere to be found. Knowing the imminent danger was gone, Daniel's body caught up with him, and he felt as if all the stress he experienced in the castle was instantly flooding back to him. Daniel gagged and coughed as he gasped for breath. His legs felt like jelly, and he allowed them rest by lowering his frame onto the forest floor. He heaved and shuddered, letting his body regain its composure. Feeling that he was strong enough to walk again, Daniel stood up and slowly made his way across the rope bridge.

Upon crossing, Daniel entered another clearing, this time with tables set about, and traces of a campfire having been built. Thankfully, no was one around this time, and Daniel allowed himself a reprieve on one of the benches scattered about. This night had been crazy. He hadn't expected this after what he had just gone through. The wounds about the revelations of his past self was still healing, and Daniel didn't know what to think about what was happening to him now. That thing, the woman, had entered her mind, read his thoughts. It knew about the Orbs. It knew about Alexander, and it knew about Brennenburg. But worst of all, it knew about him. He turned his attention to the lantern flickering in his hand. For a moment, Daniel watched it dance playfully in the breeze, its light wavering, before returning as a welcome guest in the night.

But suddenly, the wind began to pick up, and the flame inside died, leaving Daniel in the perpetual Darkness. A shrill cry howled in the night, and seven figures suddenly appeared before him. Daniel struggled to reactivate the lantern, but to his despair, it was all out of oil. He scrambled backwards, tripping on a loose rock and landing on his seat. The Dark creatures slowly converged on him, weapons clutched in their hands. Daniel could feel the woman's spite and bloodlust licking his skin as they closed in. He was all out of options; no fuel for his light, no safe place to run to and nothing to fend off the dark. It truly was the end. The closest figure raised its sickle, and Daniel prepared for the final blow.

Suddenly, Daniel saw a bright flash overhead. The immediate area was bathed in a reddish glow as some sort of flaming star was arcing towards them. As the figure in front of him brought the weapon down, the object struck it, obliterating it in a mighty flash of light .Two sticks rolled into their formation, both spouting an intense red flame that destroyed the two creatures closest to it, and severely burned the other's shadow veils. The remaining figures shielded themselves from the light, and turned their attention towards a new figure entering the fray. Daniel could barely see past the smoke's haze, but what he did see was a man, wielding a gun in one hand, and a beam of light in another.

The beam struck the nearest creature, burning away the final fragments of its protective shields. Daniel counted one -no, two- gunshots, and saw the defeated creature disappear into nothingness. The other figures lurched towards the man, but he retaliated by lighting up another Flame Stick, driving back the beasts into the shadows. Gunshots filled the air as the creatures were picked off one by one. Slowly, the noise faded away into the night, and Daniel's savior stepped forward. He shone the beam into Daniel's face which, instinctively, made him shield his eyes.

"N-No, I'm one of you." He said, the glare from the light still hiding the man's true face. Eventually, the man lowered the beam, and as Daniel's eyes adjusted to the night, he saw the man's appearance more clearly. He was wearing a tweed jacket; something Daniel considered was common in their time. Stubble grazed his face, and a tired, yet determined looks was engraved upon his eyes. In his left hand was a revolver, a newer model that he had never seen before. In his right was a small black tube which spouted a cone from one end. Light emanated from the cone which spread out in all directions to vanquish the dark.

"Die in the Shadows, Stay in the Light." he offered a hand to raise Daniel up.

"Who are you?" He asked, picking his lantern from the ground. The man turned back, the light clutched in his hand like some eponymous Bringer of the Light.

"My name is Alan Wake, the Writer."

[A/N: So, what do you think? Comment and Review if you want me to expand it even more!]


End file.
